Why You Don't Play Games in School
by flipfloppingotaku
Summary: DISCONTINUED! I've developed quite a bit as a writer since this, and well, frankly, this story embarrasses me. Still, feel free to look at it if you want pointers of 'what not to do' when writing.
1. Chapter the First: The Playing

**Chapter the First: The Playing**

When you think of America you don't normally think of the number of states it contains at first. When the number does come to your mind, you do start listing them in your head though, but you might not have the patience to name them all. When the names start running through your head, the first you think of wouldn't normally be Ohio. For as the t-shirt says 'Nothing to see since 1803.'

But this does have relative importance since that is where I live. My name is Jen Green, age 15, occupation high school student: Freshman. Like most people my age, I keep wishing that something cool will happen to me, like in manga. Yes, I am a bit of an otaku, I've almost been expecting something to happen really; in manga the unlikely hero/heroine usually gets the news at this age. But instead of an action genre like I wanted it to be...it's turning out to be shojo.

"I look like a freaking GLAM GIRL!!!"

"You look fine, now choose a necklace."

"What's Rose going to say if she sees me like this!? My reputation will crumble to dust!"

My mom is helping me get ready for a school dance. My dress is covered with various shades of blue, my favorite color. It's sleeveless, and fans out in a slightly wavy pattern a little above my ankles. Somehow, against all logic known to man, my feet were squeezed into navy blue, one inch heels. My brown hair is tied up in a bun. I've never really bothered with stupid things like this before but...

-Flashback-

_Rose and I were talking about my birthday party. It was a rather lame party, but there were some high points. Me and the other two people who attended got very high on sugar. Apparently Rose wanted to tell all of our associates about the crazed activities that ensued._

"_...You got the pictures developed..."_

"_Yup, including the one with Bob the Ameba, Lindsey is going to laugh her head off!"_

"_Don't you dare show that to her! Or anyone else!"_

"_Not this time Jen! Melissa is going to faint, Maura will beat you up for not inviting her..." Rose continued to list the reactions of the people she would tell._

"_Dammit Rose get rid of those pictures or I'll shove them down you're throat!"_

"_Wait..." Her voice had taken on a sing-songy tone. "I smell blackmail..." _

-End Flashback-

Self explanatory ne? Don't ask about the party...please...

Anyway, somehow the news managed to get around and out of pity, another friend of mine, Daniel Young, also a freshman, decided to act as my 'date.' Now I have to admit, I like him. No denying it. I even told him how I felt when he was under threat of moving away. He had a girlfriend already so I knew nothing would really happen, but I just wanted him to know if I never saw him again. As it turns out, he didn't move and we pretty much stayed where we were relationship wise. His girlfriend, Robin, doesn't seem to have any objections about the 'date' either; she hasn't brought it up much so I figure she's either alright with it because of the reason, or just doesn't want to talk about it. I don't blame her either, it is a touchy subject.

I chose a necklace with a black, silky cord, and a small, amber amulet. The piece looked like a yin-yang symbol, only there were two edges that jutted off of the circle, giving it a more oval-like shape. It's a symbol from one of my favorite video game, the Seal of Mar. It's just a piece of junk that I found by the lake outside my house. For a day or so I thought it was a sign, but no, my life was still as typical as ever. To be honest, I really just chose it to get my Mom to leave me alone. She was about to go off about how it didn't really match my outfit, when something horrifying and wonderful happened.

The doorbell rang.

(I could be really evil and stop right here, but that would hinder my creative process since I have to get the most boring chapter out of the way. This will get better, I promise.)

I darted down the stairs, as fast as my hurting feet would allow and found Daniel in the doorway talking to Dad. They must have heard me, because Dad looked rather proud when he saw me, and Daniel...his mouth hung open for a split second. He must have caught himself and for whatever reason decided not to continue. I saw he was dressed in an almost suit-like outfit, complete with a tie. His light brown hair was tied in a low ponytail. He let it grow out for whatever reason, when it was tied like that he almost looked like a girl. I also noticed he was a couple of inches taller than me when I stood next to him.

"You look wonderful honey!" Dad voiced with a sense of Pride.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were going to prom." Mom said from the top of the staircase.

I felt blood rush to my face at the attention. "C-can we go now?" My words seemed to break the spell that had claimed my date.

"Yeah, we'll just go now, we can walk to the school from here."

A rather long, but seemingly mandatory list of things not to do was recited to us: don't accept car rides from anyone, call before you come back, don't stay out past eleven, the works. We didn't really say much walking there, but I did ask about this rather large bag he was carrying.

"It's something that will cheer you up." Was his only response.

When we arrived, the gym was already full. I began looking for Rose, so she would get rid of those ridiculous photos. I saw her sitting on the bleachers in the gym where the dance was, next to who I assumed was her date. She spotted me as well and motioned for me to come. I reluctantly sat next to her, fuming for all I was worth.

My friend was clad in a red dress, very similar to mine; only the edges of hers were rather ragged, giving the impression of fire. Her shoes were also red, and had a tiny bit of string on them. They had signs of being cut by something, probably some unwanted accessory that was removed. Her hair was a shade darker than mine and in a high ponytail.

Her partner I identified as Charlie. Rose knows him a lot better than I do, because they go to church together. His hair is black and curly and his face as a whole is a tad long. There are faint traces of freckles on his cheeks. His outfit was white with a bow tie; he probably was going for the James Bond look.

"I see you kept your end of the bargain." Rose said pushing her glasses up her nose.

"That I did. Now give me the photos."

She handed me an envelope which I opened to find she was true to her word as well. I vowed to burn them when I got home.

"Well, I've had my laugh, what say we forget this ever happened?" Rose said, returning to her regular self.

"Yes, we'll do that." I agreed.

"Didn't you come with somebody?" Charlie asked.

"Of course I did, he-" I turned around and saw that Daniel wasn't in the area. Oh well, he didn't really have to stick around, but it would have been nice...

I shrugged it off, and for a few minutes Rose, Charlie and I talked about various things. Mostly activities one can do when sugar high. I was just about to leave when Daniel came back.

"Jen hold on, I see the bulk of the bargain is done."

"Yeah, I'm going to burn these when I get home." I replied gesturing to the envelope.

"I brought along something to make you feel better. Video games do burn stress a bit I think."

"Well, it is nice to be able to kill something after you've had a rough day. But...wait, you didn't have to do anything!"

"Oh, it wasn't really that hard aside from filching a key to a classroom, come on, who doesn't want to play games in school?"

His argument was pretty good, but I couldn't believe he had done something like this for me. Well, he's a bit weird like that, but that's part of why I like him. A lot of my friends are pretty high on the weird factor. Anyway, I followed him through the hallways. Apparently this was the only one that wasn't sealed off by a fence. He flashed the key and used it to open the door. I recognized the room as the one I had Global Studies in, with a key difference: A PS2 was plugged into the TV. Sitting beside it were three games, all three parts of the Jak and Daxter trilogy!

"Voila!" Daniel said dramatically gesturing to the display. Before I could stop myself, I had thrown my arms around him in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much! How did you know I liked those games?"

"Well, you do bring it up now and then at lunch, so I figured you were a fan."

I then realized that I was hugging him and quickly pulled away as a deep blush came to my face. "S-sorry...I d-didn't mean to do that..." Daniel looked like he was trying to stay calm, but I noticed a light shade of red on his cheeks as well.

"Forget it..."

I hadn't played any of the games in a while since I had to focus a lot of my time on school work, but this right here seemed to be the perfect vengeance. I opened the system and put in the first of the three. As the system started to load the game, I thought I could hear two more people enter the room.

"So, you seem to have found a way to occupy yourself." Rose's said from the doorway. The hairs on the back of my neck bristled.

"Are you /trying/ to act like Roy Mustang, and annoy me whenever possible?" I replied as I turned to face her. Charlie was with her of course, and they both came into the room.

"No, I just like seeing you act like Edward."

"Jak and Daxter?" Charlie inquired, examining the box for the game. "Never heard of it. What's it about?"

"Stick around and you'll find out." Daniel said pointing at the screen. The two exchanged glances and sat in a couple of desks facing the screen. I selected 'New Game,' and the opening began to play. The screen revealed a pool of dark eco, pink particles of energy swirling in a black and purple liquid. I awaited the monologue from Samos, but the voice did not come, the screen remained as it was, the evil substance swirling on the screen.

"What gives?" Rose said sounding annoyed.

"Maybe it's a glitch?" Charlie offered.

Alex opened the PS2 and examined the disk. "There aren't any scratches on it as far as I can tell."

"Wait," I said, "the dark eco is still there." Sure enough, the element was still covering the set. Alex tried to change the channel, but that did nothing. Charlie unplugged the TV, but the image still remained.

"Something's not right here..." Rose's voice was layered with suspicion. The rest of us nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, my amulet shone with a pale light and shot a beam to the dark eco screen. A voice resonated in our heads.

'_The amulet has called, it wants to return._'

The beam returned to the amber piece.

'_It's owner shall be rewarded for retuning it._'

The beam separated into four, each one, hitting each of us square in the chest.

'_You all played a part in returning the seal, you will be rewarded as such._'

The screen turned completely white, and seemed to become some sort of passageway.

"A rift..."


	2. Chapter the Second: The Finding P I

**Chapter the Second: The Finding part I**

Disclamer: Look, if I owned Jak and Daxter, I wouldn't be writing this now would I?

The light faded away slowly. I don't know if I was waking up from a sleeplike state or what, but my mind was blank for several moments. The first coherent thought that came to me was that I was standing. How often do people stay on their feet after being knocked out? I shook my head to get my thoughts together and finally registered where I was.

A beach.

Looking around, I found my friends were nowhere to be seen. I pulled my hair loose from it's confinement and brushed my long bangs behind my ear, for some reason it took me a few moments to do that. Hold on...

I felt along my head, finding that I could feel the wind pass by far behind me. I rushed down to the waters edge and stared gaping at my reflection.

"Oh my god..."

As I sat there looking I noticed my amulet was gone. I checked my clothes, looking for it, and examined the place where I first stood, only to come with sand in irritable places.

"Of course... the house of Mar doesn't exist now..."

My feet were incredibly sore now, thanks to those cursed shoes, so I cast them off, into the sea. The sun was starting to come up over the horizon, I now realized that I was standing on Sentinel Beach. The world seemed a lot bigger when you were actually there. If I recalled my geography of the area correctly, Sandover Village was nearby. I had to get there and at least find shelter.

"Hurry Jak! We'll miss the sunrise! It's supposed to be really beautiful from the beach!"

I heard a pair of footsteps approaching along with the voice. It was a familiar voice, but I couldn't quite place the owner. When the two came over one of the dunes, I recognized them instantly. The girl had dark blue hair and a pair of goggles around her neck. Her shirt was light pink and stopped right below her chest. Long suspenders kept a tight pair of pants from turning into a wardrobe malfunction, sock like things were on her feet, but they didn't cover her toes or heels. The boy's goggles were around his forehead, keeping blonde and green hair out of his face. His tunic was a perfect shade of blue with a metal ring strapped to the front. One shoulder had a shoulder guard on top. The tunic hung over beige pants. His feet were wrapped in bandage like cloth. It was definatly Keira, with Jak in tow.

"Hey over here!" I called to them. I was certain that they would be able to help me. They both heard my call and came running. Realizing that they would have a lot of questions about us, and have no idea where we came from, I decided to act the part. "Thank the Precursors someone came."

Keira, for whatever reason skipped asking who we were and instead asked, "What happened to you?"

My response came quickly, and the full realization of the situation hit me. I made up a story, but my voice had taken on a very panicked tone. "Me and my friends were captured by Lurkers, they were taking us to Misty Island in one of their balloons. Something must have gone wrong because the balloon broke down, we got separated. I landed here, the others must be around somewhere..." I for one think my story was somewhat believable, but I really shouldn't judge my own performance. I noted a hint of doubt on Jak's face, but he seemed to buy it mostly.

"Our village is nearby, you can rest at my daddy's house." Keira suggested. "We'll help you find them, I promise."

No doubt they would ask about my clothes, but the simple excuse of being a foreigner would cover that. It was true in a sense.

Daxter, not an ottsel, came shortly after we started walking to the village. Apparently he had been lagging behind. Keira took off with the explanation that she was going to tell her Samos about us. Daxter exchanged glances with Jak, awaiting an explanation. I remembered that Jak was mute, so I told the story about the Lurker again.

The trip seemed longer than it actually was, but that was probably because I wasn't used to walking such distances. Jak offered to help me at one point but I refused. If I was going to be staying here very long, I would need all the strength I could get. When we got to Samos' hut, he grew out a large leaf from one of his plants, offering it as a seat.

Daxter immediately started bombing me with questions. "Where are ya from? Who are you? Where'd ya get the duds? You got a boyfriend?" A whack on the head, courtesy of Samos, shut him up. I laughed a bit.

"Forgive him." Keira said, "He's not exactly well mannered."

I decided to respond anyway. "In the order you asked, I'm from a place rather far from here, my name is Jan, my mother gave me this and I wish."

There was a moment of stunned silence around the hut. Apparently they didn't expect me to really answer him, particularly the last question. The situation reminded me of the awkward moments at the lunch table when something really random happened. The memory made me lapse into sadness, and my gaze turned to the floor. I felt my eyes get warm as the beginnings of tears came. For some reason they wouldn't fall. I wanted to cry, I wanted to so much, who knew how long I would be here. Who knew if I would find, Rose, Daniel and Charlie, would I ever see home again? Damn you Precursors, what kind of reward is this?

I felt something touch my shoulder and I looked up to see Jak. He offered me a kind smile, he was trying to comfort me. I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the tears and tried to smile back.

"It's alright dear, we'll help you find them." Samos said. "And we'll do what we can to get you back home too. In the meantime, you can stay with us."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe we'll be like sisters." Keira added.

"Oh baby! Two hot chicks in one house? I dunno if I can take the heat." Daxter said, in a failed attempt to be seducing.

Keira rolled her eyes and I arched an eyebrow. "You need way better material if you're gonna even grab someone's attention."

As expected, Jak said nothing, but it was easy to tell he though this was funny.

The day went by in a bit of a whirl, me and Keira found some clothes that were a bit more appropriate. A white pair of pants with a drawstring made of rope on the side, a green tunic with the right sleeve missing, and of course, goggles with green lenses. I didn't take any footwear, I like walking around in bare feet, shoes make me feel, well confined. But I suppose that's to be expected, I am from Alabama.

When I stepped outside, the sun happily let it's rays dance on my face. I took a deep breath and tasted the salty air. A side effect from living by the ocean I suppose. I went to explore the village, where I was greeted by Jak and Daxter. Daxter 'complimented' me for having good taste in clothes, I like the style yes, but I really wished the tunic was blue. Blue is my favorite color after all. But hey, living with a green sage, you should expect stuff like this right?

Anyway, Keira joined the group shortly, and we raced to the entrance of the Forbidden Jungle. I came in third, Jak being first and Keira next. Daxter fell behind quickly enough and we teased him about being so slow.

"I just wanted to give the ladies a fair shot."

We got into a splash fight under the waterfall beneath the bridge. I tossed a blob of seaweed at Daxter, who dodged the projectile easily. I don't have a good throwing arm. Instead, it hit what I had assumed was a bleached rock. That turned out not to be the case when said rock stood up. Keira and Daxter squeaked in surprise, Jak got ready to fight in case it was a threat, and I just stood there staring.

"Alright, who's the butt crack who threw that at me?!"

The tie was loose, the suit was dirty and sand was greatly mixed in his hair, not to mention his ears had also elongated, but I knew who it was.

"Charlie!"

I dashed over to him and almost crushed him in a hug. "You're here! You're here!"

"Yes...I'm here...now could you let me breathe!" he choked out.

"Oh, sorry, sorry about that." I said letting go. When he caught his breath I noted his eyes scanning me. "Have you seen Rose or Daniel?"

"No, I haven't. Wait, how do you...Jen? Is that you?" he asked clearly very surprised.

"Uh, yeah. I guess you wouldn't recognize me, you've pretty much figured out the situation yes?"

"Yup. Lost, dirty, morphed, and clueless how to get back to-" I put a hand over his mouth.

"We need to talk for a second. Excuse us." I dragged him behind the cliff to go mano a mano.

"Jen, what is going on, where are we, and how come you've got different clothes?"

"In order, I have no idea, you wouldn't believe me if I told you and you're gonna need new ones too."

"That doesn't answer anything!"

"SHHH!!!" I pulled him closer and whispered harshly into his ear. "Y'know that supposedly faulty video game I was about to play, Jak and Daxter?" He nodded. "For some, strange, weird, twisted reason that is possibly beyond our human comprehension, I think that's where we are." He took a moment to process what I just told him.

"Wait, we're in a game? Doesn't that only happen in fanfics?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Apparently not. Now just play along with whatever happens here, or the entire storyline could go screwy."

"I take it you have a plan then?" his eyes lit up with hope.

"Now here's the thing, we fell out of a Lurker balloon that was having technical difficulties, at least that's what I told them, and we need to find Rose and Daniel before they do something stupid. Other than that, none whatsoever."

I turned and dragged him back to the group, who were happy that I had found one of the people I was looking for. I was glad that I had found the one who knew the least about the series, this way, I could tell him about this world so he didn't mess anything up or get in trouble.

We brought him back to the village, and gathered new clothes for him. I was rather impressed with how in turned out, a red vest with two straps holding the front together, tan pants with tears on one knee and black foot coverings like Keira's, only it covered the heel and a tiny strap separated his big toe from the others. Keira whistled her approval, Daxter joked about him stealing his ladies, me and Jak just nodded.

Dinner consisted of the more edible plants Samos grew and fish from the fisherman. Nothing really special, aside from the exotic look of the fruits. One of the stranger ones was blue and had black spines. It was small enough to hold with one hand, and after picking off the spines, it was surprisingly soft and tasted like a blend of strawberry and watermelon. Charlie favored the fish and inquired about a place to stay. Keira suggested living with the fisherman, since he wanted to learn more about the biology of this world.

The fisherman was happy to give Charlie a place to stay since he exhibited such a fascination in his catches, not to mention he was looking for an apprentice. I shared a room with Keira, who had an extra cot for guests and lay on it thinking. I had found Charlie in reasonably good shape, but what about the others? I fervently hoped they were okay, Daniel had to know about the games since he's played them too I think, and Rose has a basic understanding though she never actually played them. I guess, I start seriously planning tomorrow.


	3. Chapter the Third: The Sailing

**Disclaimer: My name is not Naughty Dog, so I do not own anything but the OCs and their contributions.**

**Chapter the Third: The Sailing and Changing**

The following week went by much in the same way, only now that Charlie was in the group, I had regained some hope. Samos taught us about the Precursors and the different kinds of eco, after finding that we couldn't read the language, he taught us that as well. He taught us all kinds of things that any ordinary gamer would never learn. Of course, his lessons were filled with warnings about Misty Island and the Lurkers and such.

We searched Sentinel Beach and the less dangerous areas of the jungle, but found nothing that hinted of Rose or Daniel. A large snake startled me at one point, and Jak scared it off, but not before it dropped a flat, rectangular object. I examined it, and found it to be the envelope with the pictures I was going to burn. I decided to hang on to it and get rid of the more...demeaning pictures only. If we never went back, it would be nice to have memories.

Charlie, Jak and I were running out of places to look, there was only so much we could do here. But there was one area we hadn't touched yet.

"Misty Island."

"Excuse me?" I didn't expect Charlie to suggest going there.

"It's the only place we haven't looked, maybe they ended up there."

"Ooh no. We can't go there! What if the Lurkers catch us? And Samos would kill us if he found out."

"We'll just have to be really sneaky is all. Ardus is trying to get fish in the jungle since the Lurker Sharks ruined his fishing boat, so we can use his speed boat to get there."

Jak sent him a look that said 'This is a bad idea, but it looks like we have no choice.' During the time we've been here I've halfway learned to decipher Jak's voiceless language. I don't usually understand the entire message, and sometimes I didn't have a clue, but the basic understanding seemed to be enough.

I chewed my lower lip in nervousness. I knew something bad was going to happen when we got there. A very odd thing, I knew I had played the games, so I should know what was going to happen, but for some reason the precise events eluded me. I was clueless as to what would happen! I explained this to Charlie a few days before when he asked me what happened in the game.

We managed to act like nothing was going on for the rest of the day. I told Samos I was going for a walk that evening, but he said nothing. He must have been meditating or something, so I don't know if he heard me. I hurried down to the dock where the boys were waiting. Daxter was there too, apparently Jak saw this as an opportunity to teach Daxter not to be scared of everything. The boat wasn't big enough to hold all four of us, so Charlie opted to stay behind in case the fisherman came back.

Upon reaching the island, Daxter instantly began to show signs of being scared. I'm pretty sure I was shaking too. The piles of bones were insanely large, it must have taken something great to kill a creature that big. I fervently hoped that there weren't any still alive. Daxter was the first to break the eerie silence.

"Uh, guys? Old green stuff told us not to be here y'know."

Jak ignored him and kept walking. We followed him, and the silence came again. I was too afraid to speak, it was all so dark and gloomy, and I couldn't shake the feeling that one of the skeletons would come alive and eat us. We scaled one of the calcium statues and crouched behind a boulder overlooking a large gathering of Lurkers. I shivered and Daxter slipped and fell behind us, somehow managing not to shout. Jak and I shushed him anyway.

Three dark clouds appeared and revealed the same number of beings. Two of them were floating in the air and the third was standing on the ground. They all looked familiar, but one more than the others. One of the floating ones spoke.

"_Continue searching for artifacts and eco. The villagers have some items, you know what to do._"

His voice was incredibly raspy, and had a slightly hollow sound to it. The other had a more normal sounding tone.

"Deal harshly with anyone who leaves the village. We will attack in due time."

The third said nothing, but he was frowning, unlike the other two. Maybe he was there against his will?

Me and the boys exchanged glances and left, not noticing that we had been spotted.

We climbed onto a small platform and looked around for some sign that my friends were here.

"Do we have to be here much longer?" Daxter complained, "This place gives me the creeps."

Daxter was so busy shifting his eyes he wasn't looking where his feet were.

"Dax watch-" He fell with a small cry after tripping over an artifact. "-out."

Daxter picked himself up and looked at what he had tripped over. "Oh, stupid Precursor junk." He said as he dusted it off. "The sage always yaps about how the Precursors built everything." He flattened his ears, trying to mock him as he proceeded to imitate his voice. "Where did they go? Why did they build this crap?" he shifted back to normal and tossed the artifact to Jak, continuing to rant about how stupid Samos was.

I was about to smack him just so he would be quiet when the artifact in Jak's hands lit up.

"-real losers...whoa! How did you do that?" Daxter asked, now thoroughly amazed. I was about to examine further when a Lurker armored in bones attacked us. Me and Daxter dove behind Jak.

"Jak, we're in trouble." I needlessly pointed out. Jak shot me a look that translated to 'No duh.' He looked at the artifact in his hands, ran forward and threw it at the Lurker. The Lurker exploded, and the shockwaves threw Jak backwards knocking me onto my back, and Daxter into a pool of dark eco that we somehow failed to notice. Jak and I scrambled to our feet and I called down into the vat.

"Daxter! Daxter are you there?"

My reply was something small and fuzzy popping back out and landing on its face. We stared for a moment before the orange fuzz ball sat up and started ranting as in walked toward us.

"I told you we shouldn't have come here, and if you listened..." he finally noticed our staring. "What?" He turned to look at his hand that had been pointing at us and moved it experimentally.

An extremely loud scream came from his tiny lungs that forced me and Jak to cover our ears. The new Daxter seemed to have recovered.

"I'm fine...I'm fine." He looked behind him and saw a tail.

He screamed again.


	4. Chapter the Fourth: The Training

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

/Jak 'talking'/

**Chapter the Fourth: The Training**

When we reached the dock back in Sandover, the sun was beginning it's daily journey. Charlie was greeted by the sight of the crew, one member short.

"Where's Daxter?" he asked us. The response was me lifting up a small squiril like creature by the tail. He was 'asleep.' "What happened to him?" Charlie asked suddenly very worried.

"We didn't find Rose or Daniel, but we did stumble across a very strange gathering. A Lurker attacked us, Jak got rid of it, but Daxter fell into a pool of Dark Eco. This was the result."

"Why isn't he awake?"

I shifted my eyes trying to think of an excuse. The truth of the matter was that I had to knock him out so he would stop screaming. But...

"He was unconcious too."

Jak rolled his eyes. Charlie was clearly baffled by the situation. He stood there for a moment, in thought. "Bring him inside, and we'll try to think of a way to solve the problem."

I lay Daxter on one of the cots inside the fisherman's hut, now several times larger than his now tiny body. Jak was silently reprimanding me for knocking him out and I just grinned and laughed nervously. A few minutes later Daxter awoke after mumbling something about yakkows and living peanuts.

"Hey guys, I just had the weirdest dream..." He jumped off of the cot and found that everything was decidedly larger than him. He opened his mouth to scream again, but seeing me raise a fist made him clam up. "Why did this happen to me..."

"Well, the effects Dark Eco can have on a person are more or less random I think." I offered, "You got off lucky compared to what might have happened."

"But I'm still unlucky enough to wind up like this! We gotta do something!"

I sighed and turned to Jak. He was looking very sad, he must have thought it was his fault.

"Don't beat yourself up about it Jak." I said. "If anyone's at fault its that Lurker, and he's long gone. You were just trying to defend us." Jak looked up and smile weakly. He went over to the window, where Samos' hut was visible and pointed to it. He gulped. Translation: We're going to need Samos to help us with Dax. I just hope we live long enough to ask.

I whimpered. Daxter started biting his nails err...claws.

"Well, have fun with that." Charlie said laying on the now empty cot. "I gotta get some sleep."

"HEY! Why aren't you coming?!" Daxter demanded.

"Well, I didn't actually go to the island, so I did nothing wrong."

"But you gave us the means to get there! You're an accomplice!" I pointed out. Me and Daxter were about to beat him senseless when Jak grabbed us both and proceeded to drag us away. Halfway across the first bridge, we gave up trying to get out of Jak's strong grip and walked of our own free will. Once we were at the entrance Daxter took the first step inside. A floorboard creaked. I gotta say for an old man, he has very good reflexes.

"WHAT in green tarnation do you three want?!"

Daxter began babbling incoherantly. "W-we was, th-th-they was, I-I-I was..."

"Don't tell me, instead of heeding my wisdom." Samos puffed out his chest with pride, "You three went mucking around the only place I told you not to go, Misty Island."

I nodded sheepishly. Daxter started again but was cut off once more.

"And Daxter, you finally took a much needed bath, but in a tub filled with Dark Eco."

Daxter finally had the guts to talk and keep going until he was done. "LOOK old man, are you gonna KEEP YAPPIN' or are ya gonna help me outta this MESS!?"

Samos leaned over him menacingly. "I'm gonna keep yappin, because in my professional opinion, the change is an improvement." Daxter huffed and Jak and I tried to bottle our laughter. "And besides, I couldn't help you if I wanted to."

"WHAAAAAT?!?!" Me and Daxter shouted at once. Jak just looked incredibly surprised.

"There's only one person who has studied Dark Eco long enough to have a chance at returning you to your previous form. Gol Akeron, the sage. But he lives far, far to the North of here. I'd teleport you there, but I can't do that either. None of the other sages have seen fit to turn their teleporter gates on for a long time." He paused, giving us time to digest the info. "The only other way is by foot through Fire Canyon. But the ground there is hot enough to melt Precursor metal, you can't just walk through it."

"But you could fly over it, if you had a Zoomer with a heat shield." Keira apparently had been listening and chose now to appear. "I just happen to be working on such a thing right now, but I'll need at least twenty Power Cells to power the shield. Right daddy?"

Keira had been working on something for a few days, but she didn't really give details. Maybe because I never asked...when people are working on things, I don't like interrupting them. Samos pondered this for a moment.

"Yes, that might work, but where are two and a half," he whacked Daxter with his staff as he said this, "kids going to get that many Cells?"

Keira's response was pretty quick. "Most of the villagers have a few stashed somewhere, and there are probably many more out in the wilds just waiting for some brave adventurers to find."

Jak grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. Daxter struck a pose and I just shook my head.

"We have a 'brave adventurer' at least." Daxter said proudly. I made a mental note to...instruct him, about how me and Jak would be doing most of the work.

"Adventurers?!" Samos exclaimed, "You three couldn't find your way out of the village without training. Before you do anything, you should go through the gate and practice on Geyser Rock."

Daxter chose now to make a smart remark. "We won't find anymore of that eco stuff will we? Cuz I'd hate to fall in again and turn into you!"

Samos was officially not happy. "GET IN THERE! Before I turn you all into ferns!"

We exchanged glances before jumping into the gate. Jak went first, then me, and Daxter went last.

Being teleported is a rather odd sensation, you can feel yourself being pulled apart into extremely tiny pieces, but it doesn't hurt at all. It just feels strange, like your body is made of modeling clay. Being reassembled at the other end is pretty much the same, I can understand why Samos doesn't like it. If the slightest thing goes wrong you really might lose something.

Once we materialized on the other side, I checked myself to make sure nothing was missing. While doing so, my hand made contact with a small device I didn't recall being attatched to my waste. The tiny device came to life when I touched it, detatching itself from me and hovering in front of us. Samos' voice came through the speaker and I finally realized it was a communicator.

"I've heard that there are at least four Power Cells in this area. I want you to find them all, and smash all the dummies I've put in place. Do not hesitate to destroy them, real enemies won't wait for you to attack." With that, the communicator went back to it's original place on my waist and said nothing else.

"That doesn't sound so hard." Daxter piped up. "Just as long as there's nothing that will actually attack us."

/With your new size, it would be kind of bothersome to walk all the time./ Jak pointed out.

"You're right," Dax agreed, "therefore..." he clambered up my body, I panicked at first, thinking he was trying to get some cheap thrills. Daxter perched upon my shoulder. "I believe a ride is the least you could give me." He moved his nonexistant eyebrows up and down, hinting something. I furrowed mine, he WAS getting cheap thrills, and dragged him off of my shoulder.

"Not my problem buddy, carrying you would slow me down." I then placed him none too gently on Jak's shoulder and started walking. Jak shrugged and followed, Daxter remaining on his shoulder. The first Cell was easy enough, Jak and I split up to take out the dummies around it, while Daxter grabbed the Cell and shoved it in Jak's pack.

(Yay, that rhymes!)

The dummies had pink targets painted on their fronts, a bit corny but I was glad I could hit something. They broke pretty easily too, or maybe I just didn't know my own strength. I'm a green belt in tai kwon do, but I haven't had much practice in control. One of the dummies burst when I kicked it, sending dust into my eyes. It took me a moment to clear them, and when I did, I saw a small red box in front of me. Looking around I saw several more.

I had broken wooden boxes approximatly the same size with one kick, but doing that to this one just hurt my foot. For a moment I regretted not wearing anything on my feet. Jak was examining another one, and his face lit up as he got an idea. He jumped into the air, and dove the heels of his hands into the top, splitting it into several pieces. He sprung back onto his feet from the rather awkward position as Daxter hung on for life, yelling to warn him next time he did that. I just stared no way could I do that.

A smaller metallic device sat on the ground where the box had been before. It took off of the ground and zoomed away to who knows where. We looked at each other for a moment before the communicator came alive again. This time Keira was speaking.

"Hey, you found one of my Scout Flies, the Lurkers must have captured them so they wouldn't get any Power Cells."

"Your dohickies are pretty weird looking Keira." I replied.

"As long as it does what it needs to who cares what it looks like."

The communicator fell silent again. I just shrugged. I started remembering some of the finer details of the game, there were supposed to be seven Flies in each area. The other six boxes were pretty easy to find. Jak broke them with the hand dive, and I just smashed them against rocks. The last Fly I freed gave me a Power Cell before flying away. Only two more Cells to go. For several hours, we searched, and soon all the dummies were gone. After they were cleared away, we saw a tiny blue cloud floating on the path. It crackled with energy, and only got louder when I tried to touch it. It felt like something between a liquid and a gas was flowing around my hand. Blue eco. When Jak touched it, his body absorbed the strange substance. Any nearby boxes exploded, and their contents went to him.

"Aw, why can't I channel eco?"

Jak shrugged.

"You just don't have the skill that we do." Dax said making it sound like old news.

Jak flicked the rodent's head. /Shut up, you can't do it either./

His speed had increased dramatically, and I was struggling to keep up. Precursor Orbs that had been buried in the ground for who knows how long, popped out and made their way into the pack. We stopped in front of a big, round door and wondered how to get past it. The remaining blue eco in Jak's system left his body and opened the door in an instant. Behind it was yet another Cell. While climbing up a sheer cliff to get to the last Cell, I scraped my elbow. Once we got to the top, a few tiny balls of green eco were there to greet us. When I tried to touch one, it dissapeared, and healed the scrape. At least this eco did something to me. We grabbed the last Power Cell and went back through the gate.

"Good training kids," said Samos, "But that's nothing compared the challenges lying ahead."

"Ah, it'll be no problem." Daxter bragged from his new perch. "We'd love to stay and chat green, but we're itchin' to get on with out adventures."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Fine, 'adventure' away then." Samos said with an exaggerating tone. "And while you're out, 'adventuring,' why don't you make yourselves useful? My green eco collectors are clogged up again, they're on the far side of the beach. Now, all of you...GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

We darted out of there faster than a frightened kanga rat.


	5. Chapter the Fifth: The Searching PI

Disclaimer: Listen very carefully. I. Don't. Own. Jak. And. Daxter.

Reviewer Thanks: Thanks jakndaxluver for the tips, 0xjessix0 and whoever gave me 200 orbs, thank you for being so supportive. Whoever said I was whoring, my document was screwed up and deleted that part from chapter four, so I had no choice. But thanks for the tips and being honest, I'll try to work on the characters.

**Chapter the Fifth: The Searching Part 1 **

The Forbidden Jungle, it was unusually high in Lurker activity for a while now, yet it was unusually quiet there. That is, until...

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"

These giant, spiky frogs decided I looked tasty.

"Oh, I'm in deep doo doo now!" I frantically searched for a place to hide, jumping up to a higher ledge I found myself at the edge of a cliff. "Great, now what do I do..." The frogs didn't give me much of a choice. I jumped.

How did this happen? Well, nine days ago...

-Flashback-

_We were back in the fisherman's house, discussing how we would go about getting Power Cells. Charlie and Keira were with us._

"_It might be better if we split up. We'll cover more ground and get more Cells that way." I suggested._

"_A brilliant idea, as always toots." WHAP! "Hey! What was that for?!"_

"_Do not, EVER, call me 'toots.'"_

_/Aside from that, it does sound like a good plan. Daxter and I will go along the beach./_

"_I'll search the jungle."_

"_I'll stay in the village and see what it'll take for people to part with their Power Cells." Charlie added._

"_While you're doing that, I'll do some fine tuning on the Zoomer, and try to gather info about the locations of more Cells."_

_I thought for a moment. "Is there anything you can tell us now that would help?"_

"_Yeah, you've seen eco vents before right?" I nodded. "Well, a lot of them are closed off, preventing eco from coming through. I've traced the pipelines from the closed vents on the beach to the temple in the jungle. There should be something there that can turn them on."_

"_Right, I'll keep an eye out for that."_

"_There should also be some Cells on Misty Island. Since the fisherman is in the jungle, maybe you could do something to convince him to loan you his speed boat."_

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up there." Daxter interrupted. "There is no way you're gonna make me go there again. I want nothing more to do with that place!"_

_/Too bad, we're going there too. We need the cells. Plus Samos said that he saw mine dropping Lurkers there./_

_I was given a knapsack to hold any Power Cells or Precursor orbs that I found, as well as a mini survival kit: a knife, some rope, a loaf of bread and a few pieces of flint for making a fire if I needed one. I can now identify some edible plants as well. Soon after I had entered the jungle, I started searching. I found several orbs, and a few cells that didn't give themselves up easily. I had just grabbed one out of a big, slimy looking hole which turned out to be a nest and...yeah._

-End Flashback-

I had made several trips into the jungle during the past few days, but this was by far the deepest pile of poo I had gotten myself into. As I was falling, I could have sworn I saw my life replay itself in my eyes. Either that or my brain had just gone haywire. I landed with a painful thud on the ground, and I shut my eyes, waiting for the bright light to take me.

"Lass, ya can open yer eyes, yer not dying."

I opened one and glanced around cautiously. I wasn't dead? After leaping to my feet and checking that nothing was broken I found it was true. I also noticed that what I had landed on, or rather in, was a large, now broken, basket. Its owner was looking at me seeming very angry.

"Now ya done it! Yer lucky I brought two o' those, or you'd be fixin' that up right now!" Ardus said in a rather irritated tone, causing me to flinch. He sighed. "Sorry lass, but no matter what I try, I can't seem to catch a single fish here. All I got left is a tiny net. Wait..." I had a feeling I was about to get blackmailed again. "I'd say the least ye could do after breaking me basket is catch me some fish. One hundred pounds of 'em."

"What!? No way is one basket worth that much!"

"It is ta me." He said, thrusting the net at me. "Now get ta work."

He took a moment to explain which fish were good and which I should leave alone before forcing me to start catching. Time went by slower than a fat yakkow and after an hour I had only gotten fifteen pounds of fish. My stomach made a tiny sound which I ignored; I could put off eating a while longer. Several minutes later the sound returned, and it wasn't helping me catch anything. By this point I had thirty two pounds. After a third, very loud grumble, I pulled the bread out of my pack and tore off a piece. A bit of the crust fell in the water as I chewed. In curiosity, several small fish swam around the piece and began to nibble at it.

I watched silently as the attention of larger fish was drawn by the gathering of the smaller ones. When five large ones had gathered around, I thrust the net in, and caught four of the five. Twenty pounds in one scoop! I felt a large grin come across my face as a brilliant idea came to me. I continued to toss bits of bread into the water, one at a time, and netted the fish that came to eat it. Sometimes a single piece would last for two or three rounds of

this. Within another hour I had caught twice as much as Ardus had told me to get.

"Incredible! Maybe I shoulda made you my apprentice. You deserve something fer yar effort."

I blushed at the praise; I wasn't exactly used to being complimented. Wait...ooh, I love it when I can be evil like this. "Well, I'd like to borrow your speedboat so I can look for something on Misty Island."

"Sure thing lass, but before ya go, can ya tell me where ya got tha' bread?"

"Uh let's see, I think Heilisa made it and gave it to me when I said I was going to be traveling for a while."

"Hmph, if fish like her cooking it can' be that bad then...ah well, as thanks fer the tip, I'll give ya a Power Cell."

"Oh no, you don't..."

"Ah, don' be modest, ya deserve it."

I graciously accepted the glowing orb and placed it in my pack with the others I had found. Mission, get the speedboat was officially accomplished.

Soon after I had gotten back to looking for the vent switch, my communicator came on, Charlie had some news for me. "Jen, I just spoke to the mayor, he says that something is blocking the eco beam that gives power to the village. The beam comes from the temple in the jungle; if you can find out what's disrupting it, the mayor said he'll give us a Power Cell. Also, gather as many Precursor orbs as you can, most of the villagers will sell them for ninety orbs each."

"Ok then, I found the fisherman, and after doing him a favor he said he'll let us use his boat. He also gave me a Cell. Now I have five. How many have you collected?"

"...One..."

"That makes eighteen. Tell them I'm working on finding the switch, I think I'm pretty close. But I'm not gonna be able to get back to the village tonight, so I'll be camping."

With that, I turned of the device and went searching for a way inside the temple. I found the entrance quickly enough, but it was across a small ravine. I couldn't possibly jump it, there were bits of some sort of Precursor Bridge sticking out of the ground, but I would need blue eco to put it together. An open vent was nearby, but the simple fact I couldn't channel it made this a real problem. I stood there thinking for a moment, wondering how I could get the eco over to the bridge.

I recalled the sensation I felt when touching the substance, not a gas, but not a liquid. Liquids and gasses could be contained, but I didn't have the proper means to carry either substance. I stood next to the vent and tried to scoop some up with my hands. For a moment it stayed there in my hands, but it slowly began to flow away to somewhere else. I made a mad dash toward the bridge, trying to get the eco there before it flowed away. I made it with more than enough of the tricky substance. There wasn't enough to make a complete bridge, but enough for me to cross over without much trouble.

When I got to the other side, three spike covered vines sprung out of the ground and started lashing at me. Dodging them wasn't exactly easy, and more than once, they managed to land a blow, either scratching me, or just whipping me. When I finally landed a blow on each of them with my knife, they retreated into the ground. I hurried through the door before they had a chance to come back.

As the door closed behind me I leaned against the wall and tried to catch my breath. The majority of the cuts were on my right arm. Nothing to really worry about, but it would be a problem if they got infected. I hoped that there was some green eco nearby. I examined my knife and found a gooey light purple substance covering the blade. It didn't look like any excretion from a plant that I'd ever seen. I touched it and received a small shock making me recoil. This explained the coloring, somehow those vines had ingested Dark Eco. I used a dead leaf to wipe the goo off.

It had gotten very late, the moon was almost at its zenith. I kept my knife at the ready in case something tried to attack me in my sleep. It took me a moment to get as comfortable as I could, the Precursor metal that made the temple gave off a gentle warmth on its own so I wouldn't need a blanket. Despite the fact it was filled with objects that weren't very comfy, I used my pack as a pillow. I spent the next few minutes staring at the sky. I don't think I had ever seen a sky so clear before. I tried to identify some constellations, to no avail. Yet another difference between this world and mine. Was this place really a seperate existance? Or was I becoming paranoid? Either way, I had to find that eco switch tomorrow.

I was _very, _reluctant to getting up. As I forced my eyelids to let the sun hit my retinas, a red box in a corner caught my attention. 'It must be another Scout Fly.' I thought. After resting for a few more moments, I put away my knife and picked up the box. Seeing nothing I could smash it on I resorted to using my knee, it hurt a bit but it worked. The Fly deposited a Power Cell before flying back to Keira, it must have been the last one in the area. I put away the Power Cell and started the treacherous climb to the top of the temple.

At the top I was welcomed by the hairy face of a Lurker. As a defensive reflex, I punched it in the face, which made it howl and stumble back. That gave me time to climb onto its level and pull out my knife again. The Lurker recovered and came charging like a mad bull. It grabbed one of my wrists and I grabbed its other, its rotten breath hitting me like a tidal wave. We shoved against each other, neither of us giving up. Realizing this was getting nowhere and my strength was waning, I let the Lurker push me back. I fell onto my back, and curl me legs to my chest. Then I kicked it off of me, sending it careening to the ground far below.

I was horrified at what I had just done and I looked over the edge, praying that the poor creature had survived. I regretted looking. What met my eyes was a broken, bloody body. I felt sick, I hadn't intended to kill it. I turned away and bit my lower lip, trying not to cry, to force myself to find a reason not to.

'You did it to defend yourself, it didn't suffer any, you have a job to do, you can't worry about one life.'

That's right. I have to find Alex and Rose. I have to help get Daxter back to normal. I can't afford to waste time crying. I took a moment to compose myself, and got to my feet. When I looked up, I saw a Power Cell hovering in the center of the tower and a mirror, deflecting the energy beam Charlie mentioned. I took the mirror down carefully then smashed the base it was standing on. Ok, I do believe the thing about breaking mirrors being bad luck, but so what, it doesn't hurt to be careful. I then grabbed the Power Cell and put it away. As I turned to leave, I must have stepped on some switch, because the roof turned out to be an elevator that was starting to go down.

It surprised me so much that I fell onto my butt. Once it reached the inside, I was awed by how large it was inside. The elevator came to a stop with a small bump and I stood up. I climbed over a small wall and found a dark abyss, with floating disks hovering over the darkness. I was a bit nervous about jumping from one to the other, who knew how they would react to a sudden shift in weight. But you don't get anywhere without taking risks so I back up a few steps, ran forward and leapt onto the first disk. Surprisingly, all it did was bounce a little. I hopped on it a few times to make sure it was stable before jumping to the next.

On the other side, I saw what appeared to be a giant flower. I approached it cautiously and prodded the stem with the hilt of my knife. A pair of bright yellow eyes shot open and glared down at me.

"Uh...sorry?" I squeaked to the freakish vegetation. A simple apology didn't seem to be enough, it let out a tremendous roar and lunged at me, jaws wide. I jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being eaten, but only to be hit by another thorny vine. "Dammit, not again." I trust my knife into the attacking vine, severing it from the rest of the plant. It shrieked in pain and sent several more at me, tearing my skin mercilessly. I yelped in pain and found that I was backed into a corner. Fortunately it was a corner that was out of reach of those vines.

Or not. One of the vines had a growth spurt and managed to nick my face. I severed it quickly enough, but I wondered how the vine grew so suddenly. A fairly large orange barrel caught my attention behind the monster's head, it was leaking a purplish substance not unlike what I saw on my knife when I first came in. That must be where it gets its energy! A plan struggled to get together in my mind, the next few second felt like eons.

Step one: start running.

I started sprinting like never before.

Step two: Hack away anything that gets too close.

The light purple goo flew everywhere, some even landed on me.

Step three: Climb up to the barrel.

I dug my fingers into the stem, earning me horrendous screams from the plant.

Step four: Sever the vines draining the barrel.

My hand grasped the knife like it was my only tether to this world and stabbed the tendril all the way through.

The plant screamed like a banshee and thrashed its head around, knocking me into a glass cylinder before it collapsed on the ground and withered away. I sat up groggily and noticed that I wasn't in pain. I looked up and saw that the cylinder I had crashed into contained Green Eco inside. I had been completely healed!

"-en! Jen what's going on over there! Are you okay?"

"Huh? Who the..."

"Jen!" The communicator hovered just inches away from my face. "What the hell happened over there?! I tried to talk to you, but these incredibly loud roars weren't letting me be heard, I heard you cry out are you hurt?"

"I-it's okay Charlie, I'm fine, this man eating plant tried to eat me, but I got rid of it."

"No it's not okay! You could have gotten killed!"

"But I didn't okay?!" I snapped back. "Since when did you become my mother?!"

"Shut up, we have no idea what's out there trying to get us, and I won't stand by and let you kill yourself!" The device went back to my side and turned off.

"Sheesh, that no good ----ing, sonuva-----! I swear I'm gonna beat his --- when I get back!" I was so busy spouting obscenities I almost failed to notice a pair of Power Cells that hovered just behind me. Apparently, the now severed barrel had landed on the switch that opened the closed eco vents. Having collected more than enough Power Cells, I climbed up to the exit and went back to the village.

Ardus-The fisherman

Heilisa-The bird lady

Alex-I've had and urge to type this instead of 'Daniel,' so from now on, Daniel is Alex

(Wow...what a mouth.

Daxter: Hah! It's almost as bad as Jak's! –BANG- unconscious

Don't forget to Read and Review! Flames will be used to burn the pictures.)


	6. Chapter the Sixth: The Finding P II

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah...

**Chapter the Sixth: The Finding Part II**

As the events of the past few days went by, my memory of those parts of the game were restored, minus our own contributions of course. How things were _supposed_ to happen. Our arrival seemed not to have any dramatic effects of any kind, we were more or less, just extra characters. Now our group of Jak, Daxter and I stood once again on the shores of Misty Island, not a very desirable place to be to say the least, yet that was where we were. If I hadn't had any real reason to be here then I might have jumped back in the boat and left Jak and Daxter behind. If that didn't work, then I might have at least wet myself.

"Y-you sure we have to be here guys? I m-mean, we have more than enough Power Cells..."

/We can always use more, and those Lurkers are a major threat to the village./

"Maybe Jen has a point, it's not too late to go back." Daxter offered.

Jak just rolled his eyes and started walking. /We should split up, we'll cover more ground./ I just stood there shaking. /We'll spend a lot less time here./ That made me take off in the other direction to do my share of searching. The idea of leaving was very

appealing.

The way I went had several pits of slime. First I prodded it with a stick.

"Ew."

Then I poked it with my finger. It felt like melted putty, only much cooler.

"Eewwww!"

I grinned like a mental patient and jumped in the goo.

"EEWWWWW!"

I started laughing, maybe because of my own reaction to having my entire lower body covered in the disgusting substance, maybe because the coolness of the slime was almost tickling me, I don't think I'll ever know. I'm weird like that. Anyway, I trudged through the goo, seeing as there was no other way to the other side, and started pondering how I could wash it off of my clothes when a Lurker shot out of the grime and snarled at me. On impulse I raised my arms over my head to block whatever attack it threw. This turned out to be the least desirable course of action because the Lurker pulled me completely under. I was very alarmed as the goo slid over my face so I shut my eyes so they wouldn't be harmed.

Trying to move quickly in that muck was extremely difficult, even more so than trying to hit an enemy you can't see while trying to move in said surroundings. I gave up on trying to fight and forced my way back to the surface to get air. Wiping the slime from my eyes I located the other side of the pit and 'swam' to it as quickly as possible. Fortunately I didn't run into any more problems. I lay on the ground for a few moments to catch my breath, getting back up proved difficult as my back was more or less stuck to the ground. I'll worry about getting clean when I get back to the village, I thought.

The Lurker that had pulled me under popped up again and growled, it must have been angry that its prey had escaped. I smirked and flipped it off before turning to leave. That's when it hit. A big ball of sludge right on the back of my head. Looking behind me, I found that the Lurker was laughing. It just f---ing _spit_ on me! No way was it going to get away with that! Close combat was out of the question, I didn't want to risk getting dragged below the surface again, so long range it was. But what could I use...

I began to massage my temples as I thought when I noticed a thin band around my wrist. My hair tie! I hadn't worn it a lot since I came here because I prefer having my hair down, but if used correctly...I tied it around my index and middle finger and plucked a rock off of the ground. The rock was placed on the elastic band and drawn back, then aimed. The Lurker was still laughing at it's oh so funny trick so it wasn't aware of what I was doing until it was hit. It went unconscious and sank into the goo.

"Oh s---!" I had done it again! Another living thing, an intelligent creature was going to die because of me! Not this time! I tied my hair back with the elastic and jumped back in the slime, swimming out to save the Lurker. I grabbed a fistful of hair on its back and proceeded to pull it to the edge.

"Great, I risked myself drowning in...this, to save something that tried to kill me."

Upon hauling it on the dry ground I found it was still breathing. Not wanting to be around when it woke up, I etched a message in the dirt. 'You owe me big.' In the native language of course.

Before going on, I jumped in the ocean to wash off at least some of the gunk that had accumulated on me. My hair was still a mess and now I was soaking wet, but it was better than being covered in slime. My next obstacle proved to be less of a challenge. Several stone pillars rising out of the ground, an eerie mist swirling below. Falling was not very desirable, no, best not think about that. I spent about two minutes mulling over the best way to get across before I decided jumping was the only option.

The first jump wasn't so bad, I landed squarely on my feet and didn't loose my balance. The next was a bit more awkward as I stumbled slightly when I landed. The third had to be my most ungraceful because the ledge I landed on decided to crumble beneath my feet. Gravity took me for a ride, to which I applied brakes, namely grabbing what was left of the pillar. The debris fell into the misty water below me attracting the attention of a Lurker Shark. It began to circle the pillar I was so temptingly dangling off of. I swear the damn fish was grinning.

My feet found things to hang on to so I could relax my aching arms a bit. Now all I had to do was pretend I was rock climbing at summer camp. Only there was no safety rope, and a hungry beast awaited me if I slipped. Those factors alone were enough motivation to make me start clambering back up.

Apparently, I wasn't fast enough.

The shark must have been desperate for a meal, it rammed the pillar with its huge head, causing it to topple over taking me with it. Quick thinking is not my specialty, I more or less acted on impulse, once the beast was in range, I kicked it hard the response was a ragged row of teeth digging into my calf. A loud cry of pain escaped me and I used my good leg to hit it again. My blow landed on its eye and it roared before swimming away, taking a strip of my skin along with it.

Now if I know one thing about sharks, they're attracted to the scent of blood. I don't know if Lurker Sharks apply, but if they did I didn't want to just sit there. The pillar crashed into its neighbor, and that into another, a very large domino effect creating a bridge of sorts. After taking the smallest moment to rest, I stood shakily and limped to the other side. A Precursor door opened up to allow me entrance to a large, open space. I had no time to marvel at it though, the ground started rushing towards me very quickly; by the time I realized I was falling I was already on the ground. I guess moving around so much after having some skin sliced off isn't the best thing to do.

I don't know how long I just lay there waiting for a scrap of energy to come back, but eventually I felt someone standing over me.

"I didn't think you could be taken out that easily." The person said. I turned my head to see him and tried to focus on his face. The man's head was adorned with an orange circlet, possibly a Precursor artifact. His skin was deathly pale, and his hair was only a few shades lighter, and went to his shoulders. His eyes were the brightest shade of yellow I'd ever seen. His garments were all shades of dark purple or black, and unlike the majority of people here, he wore boots.

"You seem to know me well." I replied.

"Oh, I was afraid you might not recognize me. Dark Eco can do that to you." He knelt down and lifted my head into his lap. I aimed a punch at his face in resistance, which he caught with relative ease. I now recognized him as one of the three beings commanding the Lurkers. But how would he know me?

"Really Jen, I'm hurt. Why would you attack me?"

With renewed vigor I bolted upright, smacking his head with mine. He recoiled and placed a hand on his head, I did the same, head butts always have their side effects.

"How the hell do you know my name?" I snarled, forcing myself to get up.

"Oh my, you really don't recognize me? Have you forgotten?" he vanished in a puff of purple smoke. I stared at the empty space. Did he run away? I was answered by hot breath on the back of my neck. He had reappeared behind me. "That hurts so much. After I did you that favor of going to the dance with you."

My eyes widened in shock. "A-Alex...?"

"Ah, I guess you haven't forgotten."

"Why would you...side with the Lurkers?" My legs fell out from under me, and soon, I was back in his lap.

"Side? I'm not on their side."

"But you've been tainted with the eco, I saw you with those other two!"

"Ah, them. I'm just keeping my end of a deal, I've found a way to get us home."

"What?!"

"Yes, they told me that they had a way to send us back, I've seen it myself. We can leave this place."

I shoved him back and rolled away before he could grab me again. He made a deal with them?! "Alex, you know Dark Eco is harmful, you know that those other two are evil! They're just using you!"

The dark being before me chuckled. "What if I know that? I'm doing the exact same thing, once their plan is complete, you, me, Charlie and Rose can go back, leaving them to wallow in the dire consequences of their own mistake. We don't belong here. Our very presence may be destroying the history of this world as we speak."

"Our presence isn't doing anything! If it was we would have known by now!." I struggled to stand again. "Things are already in motion, if we try to interfere _that_ is what will ruin history."

Alex grabbed my arm tightly, more blood leaked out. His nails had grown considerably.

"You can go first, when I find the others, they will follow." He pulled a vile filled with a familiar dark element. "Now what say we heal that gash." He popped off the cap and readied to pour it over my wound. It was my understanding that Dark Eco healed almost faster than Green, but was much more painful. I resisted as best I could, but the blood loss was getting to me. I cried for help, but Jak and Daxter were probably on the other side of the island.

A flare of red proved me wrong; making Alex cry out and vanish in a whirl of smog.

"Speak of the devil."

I blacked out.


	7. Chapter the Seventh: The Finding P III

Disclaimer: Naughty Dog owns, my name is not Naughty Dog. I don't own the song either.

**Chapter the Seventh: The Finding Part III**

A throbbing pain. Not the most pleasant thing to wake up to, not that this was the first time it happened. These days I always came home with something aching. But its not that bad, it just means I'm getting stronger. I've wanted to have more physical prowess for a long time, and I've hated myself for not having the drive to get it. Now it was a nessecity, I _needed_ to be strong now. In more ways than one.

I moaned softly as I awoke. I felt a weight suddenly come onto my chest. It made breathing rather difficult.

"Sleeping Beauty awakes!"

Oh no...

I dared to open my eyes and saw a ridiculously huge grin in the middle of an orange face. That little perv! I bolted upright, knocking the little weasel to the floor, much to the surprise of everyone else in the room. Keira tried to make me lay back down.

"You shouldn't move around like that, you were hurt pretty badly."

Hurt? That's right, the shark. The shark attacked me and I was in that arena where Alex...

Daxter appeared to have recovered from the ride I sent him on.

"I think that ghosty guy learned his lesson. Never mess with the ladies when Daxter is on the watch! Oh, Jak helped a bit too. Red eco really packs a 'punch!'" He chuckled at his own very bad pun.

Jak knelt at my side, ignoring Daxter. /Are you alright?/

I noted a patch of Green Eco tied to my leg where the gash was. This would most likely take longer to heal than those cuts the plant gave me. I didn't answer. Not in words at least. You could say I used Jak's voiceless language. I pushed myself to my feet and limped outside. I heard the others move to stop me but I didn't look back. They must have understood.

Climbing up to Samos' watchtower, I gazed out to Misty Island. The backs of my eyes felt tingly and warm, the feeling quickly spread all over my eyes. No, I can't cry, I'm fifteen, I'm too old to cry. No, another side told me, you're never too old to cry. There are times when you need more strength to let yourself cry, because those are the times you should. But still, the tears wouldn't fall, no matter what I thought. So I did the only thing that could relieve me of the tears.

_**How will I start tomorrow without you here?**_

_**Whose heart will guide me?**_

_**All the answers disappeared  
Is it too late?  
Are you too far gone to stay?**_

**_Best friends forever, should never have to go away._**

**_What will I do?  
You know I'm only half without you._**

**_How will I make it through? _**

If only tears could bring you back to me.

_**If only love could find a way  
What I would do  
What I would give if you return to me  
Someday, somehow, some way  
If my tears could bring you back to me  
**_

I heard my voice echo across the open water. I felt my tears fall in steady streams, and my leg throb with every passing second. My chest hurt from holding back the sobs as I sang, only letting the notes come through. I turned my eyes to the crescent moon in the sky. In my eyes, it was crying too.

_**  
I've cried here alone  
So if you sail on home again  
Waves of emotion will carry you  
I know they can  
Just let love guide you  
And your heart will chart the course  
Soon you'll be drifting  
Into the arms of your true love  
Look in my eyes you'll see  
A million tears have gone by  
And still they're not dry **_

If only tears could bring you back to me  
If only love could find a way  
What I would do  
What I would give if you return to me  
Someday, somehow, some way  
If my tears could bring you back to me

I'll hold you close  
And shout the words  
I only whispered before  
For one more chance  
For one last ounce  
Inside of me  
That I would not of known

If only tears could bring you back to me  
If only love could find a way  
What I would do  
What I would give if you return to me  
Someday, somehow, some way  
If my tears could bring you back to me

As the echo died, I let myself slump to my knees and my head dropped, facing the ground. I stared at the tiny discolorations on the wood where my tears had fallen. My throat felt dry from inhaling the cold night air, my eyelids were heavy, I felt much desire to close them. So I did.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

When they opened again, there was sunlight coming through a window. Wait, window? Do windows randomly float in midair here? No, I was back inside, with everyone but Jak and Daxter present.

"Where'd the heroic pair go off to?" I asked not bothering to sit up this time.

My question got me some attention, again my being awake was unexpected. Not to mention my voice was now rather scratchy. The price you pay for being out at night. Charlie was right next to me and spoke first.

"They took the Zoomer to go through Fire Canyon. They should be on the other side soon, and activate the Teleport Gate so we can go through to meet them."

"But I don't think you're going anywhere," Samos added. "You need time to rest and recover. Plus you seem to have a cold."

I gave him a confused look. "What makes you say that?"

Samos sighed and abandoned the plant he was observing. It was strikingly similar to the one I had fought only days ago, albeit a lot smaller and tamer. Not to mention no Dark Eco.

"Well for one, your voice sounds like someone stuffed a live spiny frog tadpole down your throat. Two..."

I began to inhale much more than the average lungfull, and unleashed an extremely loud sneeze.

"...if you're not careful, you could get snot all over the place."

I sniffed, trying to get my leakage under control. "Sorry."

The sage shook his head and plucked an ugly brown, sagging...something off of a table and tossed it at me. After fumbling a bit I caught it.

"Don't apologize, just get better quickly. That root will help a great deal."

I raised an eyebrow at the hideous thing in my hands. It looked like crap and smelled worse. I could only imagine the flavor. I turned to Charlie for reassurance, he just shook his head.

"Just eat it and get it over with."

I hesitated for a moment before squeezing my eyes shut and biting down on the root. It was worse than the look and smell combined!

"Yuck! This tastes like fresh yakkow crap!" I exclaimed, swallowing it as fast as I could.

"The nastier, the healthier, now eat it!"

I grimaced and grudgingly consumed the entire thing. After I had swallowed the last bit, the Warp Gate made a strange sound, like a bell mixed with a bee buzzing.

"The gate is open, come Keira, Charlie."

"Hold on, you're not leaving me behind are you?" I asked.

"Rest and recover! Was that not what I said?"

"Yes, but I can do that when we get there." I threw back the covers and got up again, wobbling a bit, Charlie steadied me.

"You stubborn girl, you can't go anywhere, you're sick as a dog!"

"If that was true, I'd be puking too, now I'm going with you. I can't just stay here alone now can I?"

The sage growled in defeat and jumped through the gate. Keira motioned to follow before going herself. Before I readied to leave, I picked up the envelope I found days ago, the one with the pictures. My leg was pretty numb, so I leaned on Charlie, who put one of my arms about his shoulders, we went through at the same time.

On the other side, Charlie was tackled and thrown to the ground, me along with him.

"Charlie you're here, you're alive!" the person said.

"Deja vu..." I heard the suffocating boy choke out.

"What are you doing weirdo?!" I shouted, prying them apart. "You don't just randomly attack people like that!" Next thing I knew, I was on the ground again.

"Jen! You too! I found you both!"

This person was _very_ odd. On closer examination, I found that to be old news, as this was an old friend. Sure her ears were longer, her wardrobe of a blue sleeveless top and knee length pants was new, not to mention the large sheath on her waist, but I found that this person was...

"Rose?!"

"Who else would it be?" she said with an insane looking grin. Another odd feature came to my attention.

"Why is your skin blue?"

**(Ha ha ha! Revenge is so very, VERY sweet. Read and review everyone!)**


	8. Chapter the Eighth: The Searching P II

Disclaimer: See previous chapters...

**The Searching Part II**

"AAAAha, ha ha ha ha ha!"

This was just too funny! Rose was just sitting there fuming, Charlie trying desperately to calm her down, while Daxter and I rolled on the floor laughing our heads off. My best friend had blue skin! This was payback to the max!

My victim's attention was diverted somewhere else, I ignored this, as did Daxter. We just tried to hold back the tears that came from laughing so much.

"-move out now. Jak, Jen, Daxter! You know what to do, get moving!"

We stopped giggling.

"Uh, come again?"

"What are we doing?" Daxter asked from his perch atop my head.

Samos gave an agrivated sigh. "Look it's quite simple, we need more Power Cells and there are three places they are likely to be. Rose is going to look in the Los Precursor city since she knows the most about that area. YOU will ride the Zoomer around the Precursor Basin since that will require minimal leg work, while Jak and Daxter will nose about the swamp. Charlie will check on the village and Keira and I will examine the Blue Sage's notes. Now move it before you become fodder for my plants!"

I ran off as quickly as one can with a bad leg, the others were not too far behind. The boy and ottsel went ahead of us to Boggy Swamp, leaving me to get the story behind Rose's...condition.

"Well, the first person I met had blue skin too, but that was because of his work. Since I didn't know much about this place, and I didn't think saying where I was from was too smart, I faked amnesia. I helped the Sage with his work a lot."

I snickered a bit. Seeing her raise a fist made me shut up.

"He basically took me in and taught me about this world. In the process I found I could channel Blue Eco, hence..." Her right hand hovered dangerously close to the handle of her weapon. I assumed it was a long knife since it was too short to be a sword.

"So, where is the Blue Sage?"

"I don't know...two days ago, these strange people came to our house and kidnapped him. We tried to fight back, but they took me hostage and I couldn't break free..."

I had never seen Rose this upset before. I went into my serious mode. "What did they look like?"

"They were both, how should I say it...dark looking? One man and a woman. They said something about being siblings."

The two from the island, the ones that were floating. The ones who tainted Alex...just one more reason to fight them. I didn't want to tell her what happened.

"We'll find him; we just need to find a way north from here, so Daxter can change back."

"You mean he wasn't always like that?"

"No, and we need to help him. We're looking for a person named Gol."

"Ah, the Dark Eco sage. Perten told me about him. Well, you could take the path through the valley, that would take you a lot further and the Red Sage might be able to help too. But there's a giant Lurker blocking the way. The local hero tried to fight him. When he got beat, he sealed the way to the valley with a giant boulder. The sage and I were making a machine to lift the boulder, but he was captured before we could use it, those two stole all of our Power Cells too."

"How many do we need to make it work?" I inquired.

"About forty five, if the calculations are right. You guys already have over twenty, and with us searching all over the place we'll definatly get enough."

We separated at the point that divided the docks from the basin. As I headed for the basin, a young woman beckoned me to come over. I complied.

"You're heading for the Precursor Basin?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I'm looking for some artifacts that might prove useful in my travels."

"Well while you're there could you do me a favor? A group of Lightning Moles live in the basin and I've been studying them for years. When the Lurkers came the moles were scared above ground, and they can't find their way back, the sunlight has blinded them. But if you can herd them back to their tunnels you might save their lives. A little Power Cell of mine says you can do it."

I mulled it over for a moment. Saving those moles was rather important, and I would get a Power Cell to boot!

"Alrighty, I guess I can take a little detour." I told her.

"Wonderful! Come back when you've got them safely in their holes and I'll give you the Cell."

Now I knew for a fact that I would get a Power Cell out of this! With that in mind, I quickened my pace. Soon I came across a transpad with the Zoomer hovering over it. Keira was certainly a genius to be able to make something like this. I had ridden it once to see what it was like, and it was much easier than riding a bike. And for me, riding a bike is very difficult. Don't ask.

I shook my bad leg to see if it was fully healed yet. A twinge of pain told me it wasn't. At least I wouldn't have to rely on it to ride the Zoomer. I took my goggles from around my forehead and snapped them over my eyes, letting me see the world through leaf colored glasses, then jumped onto the Zoomer. After positioning my feet on the pedals and putting up my hair, I took off into the Basin.

The wind made my ponytail fly behind me and my bangs tickle the length of my ears. The goggles protected my eyes so I could be alert for Moles, Lurkers or more importantly, Power Cells. The second I went over the hill, I heard a panicked squeaking. Looking at the ground, I saw several creatures that looked similar to Daxter. Only they had red fur, and were much larger, not to mention quieter.

'Those must be the moles.' I thought.

I sailed right over them, causing them to scatter. I leaned heavily to the right to make a sharp turn and started pursuing one of the large rodents. It really had no idea where it was going; it constantly came dangerously close to crashing into something!

As I chased it, I saw a big hole in the ground near a still lake. The entrance to the burrow? It was big enough. I picked up speed, and soon I was neck and neck with the frightened animal. It must have heard me coming because it turned and ran straight at the hole, diving inside without hesitation. I stopped right over the hole and looked inside. How did it know that was there?

Could it sense vibrations in the ground? Not an entirely unbelievable notion, not when I consider what dwarves could...oh wait, that's Artemis Fowl. Focus Jen, you're not done yet!

The next one wasn't so easy, it was a bit faster and went in completely random directions, zig-zagging between boulders, it even ran straight at me once, forcing me to stop to avoid running it over. If someone even THINKS the word 'chicken' I'll gut 'em like a fish!

But it wasn't a total loss, some of the nooks and crannies we raced through were hiding Power Cells, which I scooped up as I passed.

At least an hour of this proved fruitful when I took the rodent by surprise. Two can play at that game! I chickened it right into the hole, jumping down at the last second.

After flying around the Basin several more times I got all of them underground...almost.

I was about to head back when a feeble squeal came out from under the hill. I dismounted and crawled over to find a hole dug in the ground. Not nearly as big as the burrow entrance, but enough for one mole to fit in. I peeked inside to check and received a scratch on my face.

"What the hell?!" I tore out my knife and was about to stab whatever had the nerve to...

Peeking in, sure enough, it was another Lightning Mole. Did it dig this hole? Why? On closer examination, I found it was guarding something.

Several things.

Moving things? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Babies! I was staring down a mother! Now this was getting complicated...

I put away my knife and sat in front of the hole; head resting in my hand. How could I get these guys in the burrow? Carrying the kits was out of the question for several reasons. One the mother wouldn't let me near them, two if my scent rubbed off too much they might be rejected by the others and three even if those weren't issues the distance from here to the burrow was too great on foot. I certainly couldn't carry them on the Zoomer.

The sun was getting low, and still I hadn't thought of anything. The mother's ears perked up and she cowered further in the hole. I hadn't moved in a while, it couldn't be me.

"Oh, there you are, I got worried when you didn't come back."

It was the biologist!

"Is something wrong?"

I dropped my hands and sighed.

"I can't think of a way to get this one underground. She has kits."

She looked surprised when she heard me, and ran down to look.

"This certainly explains it. You probably got her mate down there first. She must think you killed him."

Her mate? That must have been the really stubborn one. No wonder he was so difficult. She reached into her pocket and gave me the promised Power Cell.

"Thank you for saving them. This bunch seems to have a shelter for now, I'll move them when the little ones grow up a bit."

I thanked her and drove the Zoomer back to the transpad. When I got off my leg suddenly gave out and I fell on my face.

"Oww..." I moaned pushing myself up on my elbows. I reached for my communicator and turned it on. "Charlie, I'm gonna need a pick up."

"Huh, why?" came the churlish response.

"My leg is blown out. I think I snapped a tendon." I did my best to refrain from adding something smart. I heard a sigh on the other end.

"Alright, I'm coming, where are you?"

"I'm at the transpad outside the Precursor Basin. I got us a lot of Power Cells."

His tone lightened a bit. "Good, I'll be right there."

**(My dad snapped a tendon in his arm once. He didn't feel a thing. Read and Review, or I shall not give you M n M cookies. Their awfully big...)**


	9. Chapter the Ninth: The Bathing

Disclaimer: I've only written one fanfic and I'm already tired of typing this part...

**Chapter the Ninth: The Bathing **(Get your minds out of the gutter!)

Bad news is usually not a good thing, for obvious reasons. In extreme cases it could be the worst thing that ever happened to you. Fortunately for me, that's not the case. It would appear that at some point during my chasing of the moles, the Green Eco patch on my leg had come off. Most likely a brush with a boulder while I chased that dad.

I wouldn't have noticed because I had been focused on chasing the rodent and not crashing. Not to mention the adrenaline rush. Having to squeeze my legs to stay on the Zoomer didn't do me any favors either. Than must have been what weakened the tendon and made it snap when I tried to walk.

So the bad news wasn't as bad as it could have been.

The good news...Samos didn't try to finish me off. He was angry about me being careless enough to lose the patch sure, but he calmed down when I showed him the Cells I collected...I think.

Rose had several Cells as well when she returned.

"Wow Jen, you look terrible." She said to me as we waited for the remaining two. I noted she didn't move any closer as she said it; that would mean she wanted to keep her distance. And if she wanted space then...

"Oh wait, that's just you."

She was going to insult me.

"You are SO lucky I can't walk right now..." I growled.

"I know." She came up to me and started poking my forehead. "And I intend to take advantage of that."

I snapped at the finger forcing her to back up.

"Bad Jen, bad!" she scolded. I reached behind me for something to throw at her when...

"Cat fight! Awesome!"

Our attention focused on the door, where the dynamic duo had just come in.

"The triumphant return..." I muttered.

"And kitties EAT rats." Rose said with her 'I-dare-you-to-say-that-again' grin. "So watch it."

Daxter yelped and cowered behind Jak's leg.

"But seriously, you need a bath. I can show you where a good hot spring is. There are plenty around because of the volcano nearby."

I heard Daxter whistle and made a mental note to squash him if I found out he was spying on me.

"That's all fine and dandy, but how can I get there? I can't exactly mosey on over."

"But a certain Flut Flut I know can." She countered.

"Flut Flut?"

"Yeah, Jak and Daxter found her on the beach, she was orphaned and we couldn't just leave her alone." Keira said looking up from the notes.

I limped over to the door and saw a huge blue bird tied to the fence by a make shift bridle. I swear my eyes were the size of dinner plates. The bird looked at me and cocked its head, I mimicked the action. Rose came out and untied the bridle.

"She may be only a few days old, but she's very strong and healthy."

I pretty much didn't hear what she was saying; my eyes were locked with the avian's. I raised my right arm; she did the same with her wing. She stomped her right foot, I stomped mine. I moved my head in a circle, the bird rotated hers. She stood on her right foot for a few moments before setting it back down. This action I didn't copy, that leg wouldn't support me.

The Flut Flut clicked her beak a couple of times. I shook my head, I just couldn't do that. She snorted and knocked the reins out of Rose's hand before strolling right up to me. I almost fell on my butt; the chick was taller than me! I'd like to see how big her mother was...maybe not.

"Looks like she knows something's wrong with you." Rose said as the bird squatted down to let me mount. "She's pretty smart." She clicked her beak again, almost seeming anxious to get going. I didn't want anymore rough riding today, so I just sat in the saddle while Rose led my steed to the aforementioned hot spring.

I swear something orange snuck out of the hut after us.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

A half moon shone up from the water, almost welcoming those who came. The image was slightly distorted by the many wisps of steam coming off the water's surface. My own reflection was muddled by the dark water I stared into. If the water was so murky, then I had that much less to worry about.

I tested the temperature with my finger first, sending a soothing shiver up my spine. I couldn't resist any longer! I quickly took off my clothes except for my bra and underwear, which I had been smart enough to keep when my clothes from the dance were discarded, and jumped in with a happy squeal.

I sat in the warm water for a while with everything beneath my nose underwater. Pure bliss! If this was an anime, there would be several hearts and music notes circling over my head.

The need to breathe normally interrupted my happy moment so I opened my eyes, shocked to see Rose was also in the spring.

"Relax; I couldn't let you hog all the warmth." She said not really seeming to care.

The rest of my head came above the surface. "Sheesh, I don't take up that much room."

"No, but you guard things viciously. If I had waited too long you would have driven me off."

I snorted and splashed at her, not really intending to hit her. I started humming a little tune as I soaked, much to Rose's annoyance. A purplish spot in the water diverted her attention.

"Ew, what is that?"

"What?" I came over to look.

"That purple stuff is coming from your hair!" she exclaimed pointing at my head.

"Huh?" I looked behind me and found the place where I had been sitting was lightly discolored. Examining my hair I figured out the problem. "Oh, I was dragged into a goo pit yesterday. I guess I never got a chance to really wash it out."

"Oh, okay then." She said calming down. "You must have been doing a lot these past few weeks."

"Yeah." I moved back to where I was before, propping my arms on the edge of the water. I let the fingers on one of my hands dangle in the water.

"Of course, I've done a lot too as you know. I think I might have gotten stronger."

"I have too. Out of necessity if anything."

"At least I already had some muscle to begin with."

"Feh." I leaned my head back so I was looking at the sky. The stars looked like tiny diamonds; I don't remember them being so clear back home. Damn you global warming.

"You think we'll be able to go home soon?"

Rose shrugged. "I dunno; I'm not even sure how we came."

I shushed her. "If someone's watching us, they'll get suspicious! We can't risk anyone finding out."

"No one's here and I don't think Flut Fluts can talk."

"Hm, how'd I get stuck with you as a best friend?" I jabbed.

"Idiots attract."

I almost laughed. I spent the next few minutes scrubbing gunk out of my hair explaining to Rose how it had gotten there in the first place.

"Why would you save something that tried to kill you?"

"I'm just stupid I guess. I don't know what happened to it when I left; it probably wants vengeance on me for saving it." I dunked my head in the water so my hair would all be behind my head. I didn't feel anymore pain in my leg, so I assumed it was healing.

"Is that how your leg was slashed?" Rose inquired.

"Nah, a Lurker Shark decided to play dominos with some stone pillars that I had been using to cross a chasm. I slipped and it got me." I replied.

"Wow, you seem to have more experience in the 'near death' department."

"That I do. The one thing I have that you don't."

"You have video games."

"I think you're missing the point..."

"No, I'm just tormenting you as usual. And what do you mean? You have plenty things that I don't."

I sighed. "You just don't get it do you? Sports never were very appealing to me as you know, and everyone seems to be better than me at everything. Then I met you, who are basically all of them rolled into one. Who knows how we get along. I took up martial arts because I wanted to be better, but you're still at a level I know I can't reach. And that level will only get higher. And now that we're here, in a place where I _should_ know what's going on, I'm still as ignorant as ever, and you have yet another ability that separates us."

Rose seemed taken aback by my speech. But even now my mind was telling me otherwise.

'She's faking it. She just pities me. I don't want pity...do I?'

Before I could stop it the question leaked out.

"Why did you want to be my friend?"

A loud squawk stopped me from getting an answer, followed by screaming. From a VERY familiar voice. The Flut Flut was carrying a small creature in her beak. I didn't have to see the color of the fur to know who it was.

I climbed out of the water in a huff and snatched the rodent from his tormentor. Of course I was just going to torment him some more.

"Dammit you flea infested mangy hairball! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"You're pretty sexy when you're mad." He said from my grip which was about to get decidedly tighter.

I shook him a few times before throwing him for a loop into the trees. "I don't ever wanna see your hairy face again!"

I stood there fuming for several moments; my brain had yet to comprehend the events that had taken place in the last few minutes. It decided to worry about them later and told me to put my clothes back on. I did so and mounted the Flut Flut.

"I'm heading back. I want to get some rest before traveling again tomorrow." I didn't wait for a response before taking off, running back to the hut as fast as the bird would go.

**(Sad huh? Not a bad history for something I cooked up on the spot, but I can't really judge my own work. That's YOUR job. R and R everyone!)**


	10. Chapter the Tenth: The Crippling

Disclaimer: See previous chapters...

**Chapter the Tenth: The Crippling**

I had left Rose back at the hot spring, she could easily find the way back herself I figured. When I got back to the hut I tried to walk normally, I had to be healed by now. When I nearly broke my face again, I found I was wrong. At least I caught myself this time.

I must have made a bit of noise because Jak and Keira came outside.

/Are you okay?/ Jak asked as he helped me stand.

"Yeah, geez I'm really starting to hate this leg."

The two exchanged sad expressions before turning to me again. I arched an eyebrow in confusion. It was probably about something else I thought so I shrugged it off and limped inside. The floor was now covered in mats that I assumed were for sleeping on. It didn't take me long to claim one for myself. These must have been set up soon after me and Rose left for the hot spring. Another feature that was new to the interior of the one room house was a wooden cane leaning on the wall next to my mat.

It wasn't anything fancy, but it was definitely recently carved. I knew it wasn't there before I left so it couldn't belong to the Blue Sage or Rose. Samos already had a staff and none of the others would need it...

Samos started speaking in a sad tone.

"Jen, while I was patching you up from your trip to Misty Island...well, you're leg had taken severe damage."

"Uh, I think I figured that out when I almost shattered my nose."

Despite my smart response, Samos remained calm. I became worried. This was a sure sign something was wrong.

"It's really very serious." The sage continued. Everyone else was silent, adding to the suspense that layered the air like gravy on homemade mashed potatoes. But I don't really care for mashed potatoes, nor am I a fan of suspense. "As you predicted, the tendon in your leg has broken. And...while Green Eco can heal cuts and create new tissue, it can't stretch the tendon to reattach it."

In the back of my mind, I knew where this was going. I knew why the cane was there. But the front refused to listen.

"What are you saying Samos?"

The sage tightened his grip on his staff.

"Jen...you've been crippled. You won't ever walk normally again."

Keira looked like she was going to cry. Charlie just turned to the window. Jak stared at the floor so hardly it should have burned. I just sat staring at the room and those in it, not looking at anything, but seeing everything and nothing.

Everything was wrong. Nothing was working. I silently begged something to tell me it wasn't true.

I felt my tears, but no sobs came with them. I didn't know how I should react to news like that, so I just curled up on my mat and cried myself to sleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

My eyes felt like raisins. They usually do after crying so much. My mind still being in the wake up stage was stupid enough to ask why I was crying in the first place. I opened my now reddish raisins as if the answer would be something that I could see.

It was.

The first thing my tired gaze landed on was the cane. Unable to shed more tears, I just buried my face in the fur next to me. Huh, fur? Was my dream real...

No. The fur was orange.

And the owner looked mighty comfortable. Apparently he had taken advantage of the fact I was asleep. I plucked him up by the scruff of his neck, waking him up, and tossed him out the door. Had he no shame?! And I was already depressed!

His scream woke up everyone else. The majority looked really pissed at me. I ignored them and lay back down. Glancing out the window, I saw it was a little past dawn. This was the time people usually started waking up anyway, so the others decided to wake up. I didn't move. How could I help them now?

I just lay there, listening to the going ons behind me, glaring at the cane. I gathered we had plenty of Power Cells to fuel the machine that would lift the boulder off the path. Jak, Keira, Rose and the shameless dolt left to turn it on. Samos tried to console me; he might as well have been talking to a wall.

A little over ten minutes later, the comm came to life and Rose's voice came through.

"The boulder's gone. Jak just started climbing; he should be facing the monster Lurker soon."

Keira voiced her own concern. "I hope he makes it all right..."

The sage's attention shifted to the small hovering device. Charlie was dozing in the corner. I must have gone insane right then and there. My hand snatched up the cane and used it to help me get to my feet. I felt like the star of my favorite medical drama limping out the door, something I would have to get used to I guess. Samos heard me rise and forsook the comm to chase after me.

"Jen! Where do you think you're going?" he called.

"Just because I can't run a marathon doesn't make me a worthless extra mouth." I replied, my voice layered with ice. Even with my limp, I was going faster than the old man could and he was lagging behind quickly. When I reached the pontoons that made a bridge across the delta I realized I had a problem. Jumping.

It took me a moment, but after a bit of pacing and chewing my bottom lip, I decided 'what the hell' and used my good leg to give me the thrust to jump onto the floating logs. I just kept jumping, and running at the same time.

Rose and Keira both had incredibly shocked looks on their faces when they saw me coming. On the last jump, I slipped and fell in the water. Fortunately I could still swim and came up sputtering. I refused any help they offered to pull me up.

"Jen what are you doing here? You should be back at the hut!"

"Don't go all sappy on me Rose, I don't need it."

It was probably better that I had gotten wet. If I recalled correctly my destination was pretty hot. I started the rather short climb to the crater where Jak should have been fighting the Lurker, gripping my cane in my mouth.

"What are you doing?!" Keira shouted at me trying to pull me back down. "You can't fight, and I know Jak can handle it."

I didn't have time for this, I took the cane and rapped her lightly on the head, causing her to back away.

"I will fight if I must."

Ignoring any further protests, I resumed my task of climbing up. As the distance between me and the ground grew, the temperature increased as well. Getting wet beforehand was a good idea after all.

At the top, I found the massive beast standing on its last legs, and Jak firing yellow eco like a maniac. With the knowledge it was already half dead, I leapt down onto the cooler stones. I could almost feel my hair getting drier.

One more blast from the hero sent the beast rolling in the molten rock. I watched with much disgust as the flesh and organs burned away revealing now burnt bones. After much more jumping, and almost falling, I caught up to Jak and the pervy fuzz, both of which were wearing faces fit for a blackmail picture.

I only acknowledged them enough to push them out of my way and continued to limp/run. Jak tried to stop me, grabbing my arm that held the cane.

/What do you think you're doing?/

He was dripping in sweat, his bangs plastered to his forehead which looked like it was coated in oil. His clothes had darkened, damp patches in the extremities. You would look like that too if you had just killed something several times your size while trying not to fall in a pit of lava.

"Is that all anyone can say to me anymore?" I replied shoving his arm away. The rat had to chime in.

"Seriously, you can't be here! You'll become a crispy critter if you slip!"

I grabbed his ears and dragged him off of Jak's shoulder. "The same thing applies to you if you piss me off. Which might I point out you've already done twice already."

"You got it all wrong!" he cried struggling in my grip. "I wasn't trying to snoop!"

I grunted and threw him back to Jak who caught the rodent with one hand. He seemed more dumbfounded than usual as I stalked to the other side of the crater. Upon reaching the other side, I found another transpad with the Zoomer hovering over it. That rotten machine is what ruined my leg in the first place, but my body refused to listen to my mind and climbed on.

I pulled down my goggles and stuck my cane through a small ring on the front meant for tethering before turning it on and flying off.

**(Dax: Wow, you've gone insane! Why would you steal the Zoomer? Why would you torture me? Okay the answer to that is obvious...but most of all, WHY DID YOU HIT KEIRA?!**

**FFO: Why...you wanna know why...you REALLY wanna know WHY?! I'll tell ya why...IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! Despite what you think, I DO read the reviews AND I reply to them!**

**Dax: She does. Really. Aw, do I have to say this?**

**FFO: Yes, because it's 10:30 at night and I wanna sleep. Not to mention that essay...I hate the number 5...especially when referring to paragraphs...**

**Dax: Ok, ok...constructive criticism is appreciated. Remember, it takes 170000000 compliments to negate one negative remark.)**


	11. Apology

I apologize for the wait, but I believe that recently I have developed a better understanding of the fanfiction game and realize I need to make some serious changes with this story. However because I'm lazy I won't be messing with the chapters already here and focus on making the new ones better. I may do that eventually though. I will no longer write in first person as I know it only adds to the Mary-Sueness, or focus soley on Jen.


End file.
